Angi Morgan: Week One: The Journey to SOLD!

Hello everyone and thank you for having me as a guest. A special thank you to Lateia for the warm welcome. Feel free to ask me questions, especially if I use an abbreviation that you may not know.

Although I’ve been writing a long time (with a few breaks), the journey to SOLD this year was rather fast. Or it seems fast. A couple of things changed in my writing life to help me.

FIRST: my kids have left home. I was a volunteer for 21 years all the way through graduation. I still help with the local girls fastpitch organization (believe it or not I’m an umpire). And I have the support of my husband to write as much as possible.

SECOND: See Jane Run won a contest in late 2008 and received an editor request for the full. At that time, the full manuscript had already been rejected by Harlequin. So why submit it again. Right?

THIRD: I attended a chapter retreat last November and RITA nominee author Candace Havens yelled at me. Okay, she didn’t raise her voice, but she picked on me all weekend. She finally got me alone and said, “I’ve read your work. Just write the damn book.”

FOURTH: I accepted the position of president of my writing chapter NTRWA (ntrwa.org). And with that responsibility I had to write a column for the newsletter. Ugh. I wanted to be original but not ramble. I came up with the idea to document my journey to publication: What had I done that month to keep my writing on track.

I have to admit that See Jane Run is one of my favorite stories. I hated to see it die a quick death in 2004. A week before I received notification that I was an RWA Golden Heart finalist, I had received the second (and final) rejection.

So in January I set my goal to concentrate on revising See Jane Run. (Remember that request?) I analyzed the story with friends and made some major changes. (That’s another blog.) But most importantly, I visualized the sale. (Hokey, right?) Well, not so much. You see, that’s the FIFTH thing I changed about me. I refused to stop until an editor told me “no.” Every time that little devil voice shouted in my ear that I was going to fail, I told it to scram. I began telling people that 2009 was my year. I would sell. (I knew that selling was out of my hands. It’s a business. But my mantra was: “I will sell.”)

And in order to sell, you have to submit to editors (and agents). I made a decision to enter contests targeting final round editors where See Jane Run might fit. One contest had both the agent AND editor who were at the top of my favorites list.

There was one tiny problem. The best contest for my story: The Daphne du Maurier (sponsored by the RWA Kiss of Death chapter) also happened to be the one contest that had eluded me for nine years. No matter what I entered, I couldn’t final. But remember, 2009 was my year.

I entered in March. Fretted–I mean chanted my mantra–in April. Finaled in May. Chanted more in June. Won in July. Revised in August. Submitted in September. Signed with an agent in October. Sold in November. Mailed the final version of the book in December. Whew…

Angi, your journey is so much like mine it's freaky. I'd been writing for almost 13 years before I sold. I had already had the book I finally sold rejected, and like you, it was my 2004 Golden Heart finalist book. My book was requested through a contest win (not the Daphne, however), and it was a book that a writing friend (author Kristen Robinette) prodded me to dust off and rework. And, like you, I sold my first book to Harlequin Intrigue.

I'm thrilled for another 2004 GH finalist to sell (it was a great crop of writers that year, if you ask me), and I'm doubly thrilled that you've sold to Intrigue. Congratulations for the hard work and success.

I think it's a real testament to sheer, cussed perseverence, which is a lot more important to a writer than some of us like to think.

I am so glad you shared your journey, Angi, because it is definitely encouraging and shows that one should never give up on their dreams. Proud of you and all that you've accomplished. Best of luck with all kinds of sales.

Susan — Absolutely. Learning your craft/business is the easy part. Learning how to be positive after rejections (wow isn't it hard?) and learning how to pull yourself up and continue… You just have to force yourself some days to put yourself out there again.~~Angi

Paula — That really is freaky how paralleled our sales have been. I have to admit that the timing in 2004 wasn't right for me. But 2009 was…and is my time. Can't wait to get more of the Cooper series from Intrigue by one of my favorite GoldFours!

Congratulations on your sale, Angi! I have a question. How did you find your agent? You commented that he/she was a final round judge for a contest, and one of your favorites. How did you decide he/she was the agent you wanted to target?

Great story, Angi–I know you've been on the road to this destination for a long time. This might be a future blog, but do you have any tips on how to deal with that “you're really close” feeling? Contest wins, requests, but no sales–after a year or two that can become disheartening. How did you know to keep working on THIS book and keep submitting it?

Hey Cindy — How did I find my agent? Fortunately for me, I had an agent early in my career. A lot of rejections later and several life-stalling events for me, had us mutally parting ways. But having that agent taught me to listen to my friends. “My agent…this.” “My agent…that.”

As a result, I heard lots of good things about my current agent. I met her at a workshop at RWA's national conference. I ran into her a couple of times more. And I liked her. More importantly, I liked what a couple of her clients were saying about the agency.

One thing I know about myself…I'm a paranoid writer. Petrified that I'm not good enough and I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for someone to comment –good or bad– I don't care. I just need confirmation. ~~I didn't get that from my first agent. I needed someone more hands on. Ready to tell me if I was going in the right direction.

THAT's what I heard about my current agency and why it was at the top of my list.

Hi Amy !! “Contest wins, requests, but no sales–after a year or two that can become disheartening.”

This is an unfair question from my critique partner because she knows the truth. LOL

You dig in and find out who your friends are. THEY keep you going. As much as I want to say that you won't get down in the dumps…let's face it, I've been seriously writing for ten years. There were several times when I was rejected (two years in a row on the same day–I hate July 2nd) that I really wondered if I was cut out for this business.

But then I had to remember that it IS a business. All I could do was write. And write. And write. And sometimes I didn't write (my friends know how often they had to kick my butt into the chair).

But I have to also add that the “focus on me” this past year made a difference for ME. For the first time in several years I was a bit selfish with my time. I didn't volunteer as much. I made myself WORK. I knew this was the right time and KNEW I had to move forward.

And you're right, Amy. I want to write more about this in a separate blog. There are so many of my friends sitting on the edge of selling. I hope EVERYONE gets there soon.

I originally wrote SEE JANE RUN in 2003. Inspired by a writing exercise I was working on, saving our spot at a fireworks show while my husband and daughter went for drinks. It sounds like an entire team helped me write it. Honestly, I like opinions. (HERE'S ANOTHER BLOG.) I'll discuss how the different opinions of my CPs and contest judges influenced me over the years.

I wrote SJR in 2003. *It was rejected by Harlequin.*Revised in 2004 for single title.*Never quite right for that market.*Kept on the shelf.*Entered in an occasional contest.*And this year, totally rewrote the character motivation in the entire book. Fairly substantial rewrite.

Remember to check back for that blog on Opinions vs. Going With Your Gut.

Angi, Congratulations on your sale! I SO believe in visualization of achieving your dream. It seems our belief in self is tested when we're the closest to the door of achievement. Way to go for persevering, for setting goals and fighting for your dream. May your 2010 be your best yet!Sincerely,Diana CosbyRomance Edged With Danger